1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to integrated circuit packages and a method of manufacturing same. In one aspect, the present invention relates to an integrated circuit package having an exposed lid heat spreader.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the density and complexity of integrated circuit devices increases and the size of such devices shrinks, significant challenges are posed in the design and packaging of these devices. One challenge is to provide a thermal path within the package to conduct heat away from the integrated circuit die, where conventional approaches for removing heat generated within the package typically use individual metal lids or heat spreaders that are separately applied to individual packaged units and then encapsulated with molding compound. The use of individual lids is not efficient for the manufacture of multiple integrated circuits in terms of the separate application requirements for separate heat spreaders and also in forcing the use of a larger body size to allow room beyond the edge of the lid for saw singulation. Further, such packages typically have a relatively high thermal resistance between the die junction surface and the heat spreader, especially when mold compound is formed therebetween. Such conventional approaches also present packaging reliability challenges caused by overheating resulting from poor thermal transfer from the integrated circuit die.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved integrated circuit chip package and manufacture method that addresses various problems in the art that have been discovered by the above-named inventors where various limitations and disadvantages of conventional solutions and technologies will become apparent to one of skill in the art after reviewing the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings and detailed description which follow, though it should be understood that this description of the related art section is not intended to serve as an admission that the described subject matter is prior art.